Check in with ops

Posted on Sat Oct 19th, 2024 @ 5:56pm by Captain Xavier Carey & Lieutenant Etan tar-Lexros & Ensign Xavier Hardy

Mission: Those who are left behind
Location: Ops/Engineering
Timeline: Current

Xavier walked around the ship. He had been to the brig, dealing with prisoners, the cargo bay dealing with survivors, and medical bay. Now the next phase of their mission was upon them. What ships out there were salvagable, and what can they take from those that weren't, and let scrap dealers come for the rest.

Walking through the doors, he was met with equipment of all kind scattered all around the floor. "I guess you guys don't fool around."

With the Flight Deck being managed now by the pilots and the cargo bays taken up with survivors, Etan had been pushed to find a reassignment location for the salvage operations. To that end, he'd taken over the Ops and Engineering lab spaces as a salvage processing and scanning facility with the help and cooperation of the Engineering team. The two staffs worked together as one, selecting salvage, scrap, and recyclable material from the destroyed vessels - enemy and Federation. Nothing was going to waste.

He looked up at the Captain and nodded with a smile. "Uh, aye, Captain. We've been working on this for some time now, and we want to give ourselves and Starfleet every advantage. Are there any components, friendly or enemy, that we should be particularly searching for?"

"Anything that will keep us, hopefully one step ahead... from the enemy ships... and anything that still works in the Federation and Klingon side." Xavier replied as he walked over to the officers. "I've received word from the USS Austin... a new ship that just arrived. She would be more than willing to handle anything you guys find that's salvagable."

The nod from Etan was decisive. He had already set up a plan to start working on salvage ops, and between himself and his team, they'd been able to identify some key components. "Aye, sir." He thought for a moment, and consulted his PADD, thinking. "I think we have some components here to help the Austin, sir. We've also got all the contained antimatter stored as safely possible - if it went off, that would be a calamity. For the Klingons, there's still a sealed singularity core off our port aft which we've identified, but not brought on board. I'd prefer not to risk bringing it in unless we need to. Their systems are more compatible with it."

"Good work Lt." Xavier replied as he smiled. "Lt Carey has informed me, of how I didn't follow the chain of command when I handed the con over to the Marshall... something shes a stickler about..." He was inquiring about his view on the matter.

Etan thought back to the incident where the Marshal was in charge, The Intruder Alert they'd had to call because someone broke out of Cargo Bay 3. He took a moment, not letting the memory of the incident bring up the same nerves. "Sir, it's not my place to question your command decisions. I'm certain you used your best judgment. Tal - uh, Lieutenant Carey, is in a privileged position that I don't share."

It was very clear from his tone that Etan agreed with Talsi's opinion of the situation, he just wasn't willing to openly say it.

"Privileged position?" He inquired. "You mean, being my spouse?" He quickly changed it back to the other subject. "Without input Lt. One cannot learn and grow. No one is perfect and makes mistakes... Captains included. I'm not one to penalize or think different of my crew, if their views differ from mine."

Etan nodded, and glanced aside for a moment. "Then, if I may speak freely, sir, I respect your choice to allow the Marshal and the Marines to integrate more directly with the crew, and I understand and respect your reasons for not leaving the conn to me. I did have a mild anxiety episode when things went wrong. It is getting better, but I respect my limitations, Captain. However, when we entered a crisis situation, we might well have faced a major issue regarding conflicting orders and chain of command. I'm certain that the Marshal is an excellent command officer, and I do respect him. The challenge is, his stated responsibility does not extend to the ship as a whole. I accept that I may have overstepped my bounds by sending the order to clear the Flight Deck to the Wing support staff as well as Starfleet staff, but I felt it was a matter of safety for the ship and crew. But until such time as the ship's Marine detachment is integrated into standard procedures and they are confirmed to have officer-level clearances, I can't say I fully agree with the Marshal being given the conn."

Xavier remained silent, looked at people behind the Lt. "The mistake was mine Lt. No one elses. My place is on the bridge, not running over on away teams being the hero. Still something I gotta learn." He paused. "As for your overstepping... you seen something that had to happen, and you did what you had to, to make sure it happened. I think you just proved to not only myself, but to a lot on the bridge, when needed you can, and do step up to the challenge. Don't worry, my first time, my anxiety was anything but mild. After the situation was over, I passed out and woke up in sickbay."

Etan nodded, and glanced at the others for a moment before looking back at the Captain. "Sir, I trust your judgment, but you're right. Starfleet regulation does support that Commander Stoffels should be the lead on Away teams. I appreciate your support. I, uh... I've been working on things with Kay - I mean, uh, First Lieutenant London." He blushed slightly. His slip in familiarity with Talsi was a matter of friendship, as she'd held down Ops before he was onboard. But the growing friendship between himself and Kay was something that thankfully hadn't gotten into the ship's scuttlebutt. "Commander Doctrine also helped before she moved on."

"As for the Marshall... hes an old man wanting something to do... he doesn't want to feel like hes being tossed aside something we shall have to discuss if is he going to stick around on the ship... when he presented himself, I made a wrong call... with almost all command officers gone... it should have went to you. Something Tal has scolded me about as well... so I apologize." He looked at a padd he brought. "Here is an updated list on what to look for on some of the enemy ships... primarily on the dominion... but some may be found on the cardassians.

He took the list and thought for a moment. "I respect that, and as I said, I don't doubt the Marshal's experience, knowledge, or guidance, sir. Since the main Marine division aboard the ship is the Fighter Wing, would it be possible for him to serve as a coordinating officer for the Wing? I'd be happy to delegate the Flight Deck responsibility to him and collaborate on any needs either the Wing or the other auxilliary vessels have."

He looked over the list and nodded, tapping a few entries before bringing up his own PADD. "We have several of these components available, sir."

"I think that just might solve our problem. We will need to discuss this with him, as well as a few other people. But I do believe in this instance... it is probably the best solution." He replied as he looked at the components. "Very nice... that will be good. How much of the debris field have you got scanned. Will you need to board any of the ships that are adrift?"

Etan nodded at the possibility that the Marshal could lead the flight deck, considering it a good solution. He tapped a few buttons on his PADD. "Just on scans, the Science department has given us a pretty good picture of the field. As far as being able to tell on salvage, we're at approximately eleven percent of the field. We probably will need to board some of the ships, yes, because there are components which may not be able to be transported."

"Anything and anyone you need will be at your disposal." Xavier replied, "Except myself, Ive been effectively banned from any more away missions."

It was odd to see Etan actually smile about something like that - but hearing Xavier say that he was finally following regulations was a good thing. "Thank you, sir. I'm sure you're aware of the Away Team regulations, specifically section 12; and the subsidiary sections of General Order 15 regarding command officers in absence of a flag officer on-station. I'm sure that you'll continue to set a good example for the ship as a whole, Captain." From most people, that would be nothing more than a gentle chiding. From Etan, it was probably the most insubordinate he'd ever been; but it was entirely in his wheelhouse. While the efrosian wasn't the best 'people person' on the ship, he was more than conscious of his responsibilities to the personnel as a whole, and saw that the Captain's dedication to following Starfleet's rules and regulations set a tone for the ship as a whole.

"Looks like you have the rulebook memorized, or you had practiced this speech before. Either way... good on you... sometimes a CO needs a swift kick in the ass." He smiled. "I'm seeing more and more things I like about you each time we talk. Getting more confident I see... its a good thing."

The shy Ops chief blushed slightly at the Captain, and nodded slightly. "After what happened on Lantea, I reread every regulation regarding Away teams and how to lead them, sir. After all, it's part of my team's responsibility to ensure that safety and security protocols are followed for all personnel, on and off the ship." That was a line directly from the Ops Manager's manual - but it was true. Obviously Etan took it seriously, as he did most things. That only went double when the thing he was dealing with involved health or safety for himself or the people around him.

Etan smiled a bit and shrugged at the idea of giving the Captain a kick in the ass. "I wouldn't have used that phrase, sir." That left it ambiguous what he would have said, but tar-Lexros wasn't the kind of person who'd say that he gave his Captain a swift kick anywhere. "I've been trying to project more confidence, sir. First Lieutenant London and Lieutenant Morrison-Johnson have been helping in that effort. I'm glad that it's working."

Xavier nodded his approval before turning, "Keep it up." He headed out the door.